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Reasonable Faith (3rd Edition): Christian Truth and Apologetics
 
 
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Reasonable Faith (3rd Edition): Christian Truth and Apologetics [Paperback]

William Lane Craig (Author)
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Book Description

June 9, 2008

Perfect as a textbook yet excellent for lay readers, thisupdated edition builds a positive case for Christianity by applyingthe latest thought to core theological themes.

J. Gresham Machen once said, "False ideas are the greatestobstacles to the reception of the gospel"-which makes apologeticsthat much more important. Wanting to engage not just academics andpastors but Christian laypeople and seekers, William Lane Craig hasrevised and updated key sections in this third edition of hisclassic text to reflect the latest work in astrophysics,philosophy, probability calculus, the arguments for the existenceof God, and Reformed epistemology.

His approach-that of positive apologetics-gives carefulattention to crucial questions and concerns, including: therelationship of faith and reason, the existence of God, theproblems of historical knowledge and miracles, the personal claimsof Christ, and the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. Heshows that there is good reason to think Christianity is true. AsCraig says, "If you have a sound and persuasive case forChristianity, you don't have to become an expert in comparativereligions and Christian cults. A positive justification of theChristian faith automatically overwhelms all competing world viewslacking an equally strong case."




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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is hard to overstate the impact that William Lane Craig has had for the cause of Christ. He is simply the finest Christian apologist of the last half century and his academic work justifies ranking him among the top 1 percent of practicing philosophers in the Western world. Besides that, he is a winsome ambassador for Christ, an exceptional debater, and a man with the heart of an evangelist. I know him well and can say that he lives a life of integrity and lives out what he believes. I do not know of a single thinker who has done more to raise the bar of Christian scholarship in our generation than Craig. He is one of a kind and I thank God for his life and work."
J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology

"In admirably clear prose, Professor Craig presents important philosophical and historical issues relevant to Christian beliefs. With extraordinary erudition, he sketches the arguments of major thinkers of both past centuries and recent times, and he presents his own reasons for concluding that traditional Christian doctrines about God and Jesus are credible. His replies to those skeptical of the existence of God, of historical knowledge, of the occurrence of miracles, and in particular of the resurrection of Jesus, take debates over those difficult topics an important stage further. Here is an admirable defense of basic Christian faith."
C. Behan McCullagh, Philosophy Program, La Trobe University

"Although my philosophical predilections often differ from Dr. Craig's (as they do from those of everyone else I know), I have found that he is very knowledgeable about science and current cosmological ideas. He provides interesting insights into their implications for our shared Christian beliefs."
Don Nelson Page, Professor of Physics, University of Alberta

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review

"It is hard to overstate the impact that William Lane Craig has had for the cause of Christ. He is simply the finest Christian apologist of the last half century and his academic work justifies ranking him among the top 1 percent of practicing philosophers in the Western world. Besides that, he is a winsome ambassador for Christ, an exceptional debater, and a man with the heart of an evangelist. I know him well and can say that he lives a life of integrity and lives out what he believes. I do not know of a single thinker who has done more to raise the bar of Christian scholarship in our generation than Craig. He is one of a kind and I thank God for his life and work."
J. P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

"In admirably clear prose, Professor Craig presents important philosophical and historical issues relevant to Christian beliefs. With extraordinary erudition, he sketches the arguments of major thinkers of both past centuries and recent times, and he presents his own reasons for concluding that traditional Christian doctrines about God and Jesus are credible. His replies to those skeptical of the existence of God, of historical knowledge, of the occurrence of miracles, and in particular of the resurrection of Jesus, take debates over those difficult topics an important stage further. Here is an admirable defense of basic Christian faith."
C. Behan McCullagh, Philosophy Program, La Trobe University

"Although my philosophical predilections often differ from Dr. Craig's (as they do from those of everyone else I know), I have found that he is very knowledgeable about science and current cosmological ideas. He provides interesting insights into their implications for our shared Christian beliefs."
Don Nelson Page, Professor of Physics, University of Alberta

"Bill Craig is one of my personal heroes! He is among today's finest defenders of Christianity. He offers a powerful mix of authentic faith, intellectual firepower, debating skill, and the gentleness and respect that the Bible requires."
Lee Strobel, Author, The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

"Especially regarding his breadth of scholarship, no contemporary Christian apologist surpasses Bill Craig. Some of Bill's wide range of interests are evident in this third edition of Reasonable Faith. To be introduced to crucial topics such as God's existence, creation, Scripture, and the historicity of Jesus, including his deity and resurrection, all under one cover, is an enormous treat. Not a single student of apologetics should miss this volume by a major scholar. Crossway Books deserves much credit for continuing its strong tradition of Christian textbooks."
Gary R. Habermas, Distinguished Research Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy and Theology, Liberty University

"As a former student and now collaborator with him in writing and in ministry, I am one of the numerous beneficiaries indebted to William Craig and his stellar work in the philosophy of religion and Christian apologetics. He has been a model, a mentor, and an inspiration through his scholarship and his commitment to God's kingdom. His newly-updated Reasonable Faith continues to be the gold standard for apologetics texts: vital historical discussion of issues and arguments; rigorous reasoning and state-of-the art scholarship; and highly relevant, personal application-all permeated with an evident passion for the cause of Christ."
Paul Copan, Professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University; President, Evangelical Philosophical Society

"William Lane Craig is both an absolutely topnotch, world-class scholar and a man with a warm heart for apologetics and evangelism. This astute book combines both passions. It gives rigorous and well-documented arguments which are aimed at producing a rational faith that can be commended and defended before the watching and waiting world. Bravo (for the third time)!"
Douglas Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary

"William Lane Craig is not only a world-class philosopher-widely recognized as such in the philosophical community-but he has been a leading defender of the Christian faith for over a quarter of a century. Reasonable Faith includes, in concise and accessible form, some of the best of the best of his thinking on vital areas of apologetics. Powerful, persuasive, and relevant, Craig demonstrates that central Christian beliefs, such as the existence of a personal, intelligent, and exceedingly powerful God, miracles, and Jesus' Messianic claims and resurrection, are reasonable to believe and based on solid evidence. You won't find a better book in support of the Christian faith."
Chad V. Meister, Director of Philosophy, Bethel College; Author of Building Belief

"For years I've recommended Reasonable Faith to my students as the best single-volume apologetic. And now it is even better! Craig's analysis of the latest scientific arguments and his response to the New Atheists makes it a must-have for those interested in thoroughly defending the cause of Christ."
Clay Jones, Assistant Professor of Christian Apologetics, Christian Apologetics Program, Biola University

"William Lane Craig is arguably one of the finest Christian philosophers of our time. His knowledge and skill have placed him on platforms on every continent, engaging the most notable skeptics in dialogue and debate. Reasonable Faith will provide only increased opportunity and impact as he makes his mark on our time with a timeless message."
Ravi Zacharias, Founder and President, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; author, Jesus Among Other Gods

"The third edition of William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith is simply a masterpiece. It combines clarity and applicability without sacrificing depth. Each chapter has three major parts. First, the topic is introduced with an extensive discussion of the historical development of the arguments and objections to the arguments. Second, Bill leads the reader into the depths of the most contemporary discussion. He treats the leading versions of the arguments for Christianity as well as the best of the objections. He has taken great care to achieve a thoroughness that is rarely found in apologetics texts. Third, he explains, through many personal examples, how the arguments in the chapter can be appropriated in personal evangelism. Combining these three elements is enough to make this text unique. The depth and quality with which each step is accomplished makes it indispensible."
Gregory E. Ganssle, Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Yale University, Rivendell Institute

"Craig's work is philosophically and theologically first rate, though accessible to the educated layman. All Christians-Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox-can gain so much from reading and mastering Craig's 3rd edition of Reasonable Faith."
Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University; author of Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice


Product Details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Crossway Books; 3 edition (June 9, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1433501155
  • ISBN-13: 978-1433501159
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. With my wife Jan, we have two grown children.

At the age of sixteen as a junior in high school, I first heard the message of the Christian gospel and yielded my life to Christ. I pursued undergraduate studies at Wheaton College (B.A. 1971) and graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A. 1974; M.A. 1975), the University of Birmingham (England) (Ph.D. 1977), and the University of Munich (Germany) (D.Theol. 1984). From 1980-86 I taught Philosophy of Religion at Trinity, during which time we started our family. In 1987 we moved to Brussels, Belgium, where I pursued research at the University of Louvain until assuming my position at Talbot in 1994.

I have authored or edited over thirty books, including The Kalam Cosmological Argument; Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus; Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom; Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology; and God, Time and Eternity, as well as over a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology, including Philosophia Christi, The Journal of Philosophy, New Testament Studies, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy, and British Journal for Philosophy of Science.

My CV can be read here: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer?pagename=curriculum_vitae

Publication list: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer?pagename=publications_main

 

Customer Reviews

76 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (76 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Mind Food, April 9, 2002
By 
Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is good, solid mind food. People perceive, and it is sad to say that they perceive with good reason, that Christianity is mere mind-fluff, and that what is holding back Christianity is the Christians.

This book is a discussion of what is behind Christianity, and provides a philosophical framework in which to defend Christianity. It is written at the college level, since it is intended to be an apologetics resource for college students. I marvel at the way that Dr. Craig brought together so many ideas from so many resources in this book. It found that I used almost every facet of my undergraduate education in understanding the ideas and evidences he used. Most helpful was my survey of philosophy and my hard science classes.

This book is divided along six headings: Faith, Man, God, Creation, Sacred Scripture, and Christ. Each chapter is in turn divided along several sub-headings: the Historical Background of the question, an Assessment of the question as it currently stands, and a Practical Application, where Dr. Craig discusses how "the rubber meets the road" is discussing this issue with those curious about Christianity.

This is not a bash book, nor is it a survey on "how to hate," but rather it is geared to a thoughtful and ponderous evaluation of many evidences of the truthfulness of Christianity. For example, in Chapter 2, Craig discusses the existential absurdity of life without God. He raises the question of where we get absolute values, and how life becomes meaningful if we are merely a cosmic accident or a galactic hiccup. This is the one question that the atheist, or "atheist-arguing-agnosticism" cannot answer: if there are no moral absolutes, then why not torture babies for sheer pleasure. After all, it has been done before.

Then in Chapter 3, Dr. Craig discusses the existence of God as evidenced by the Big Bang. The chapter isn't physic-heavy (It doesn't even have one equation), but it does discuss the implications of having an absolute time for creation. Craig relies heavily on the "Kalam" argument by Al-Ghazali, which, simply put, is: "Everything that began had a cause. The Universe began. Therefore it had a cause." Then the question becomes a discussion of who or what is the causal agent in the universe.

The prose is quite clear, so there is no pedantry or confusion with what you read. I found that this book was quite a pleasure to read, and it made me take several longer looks at my faith. The concluding chapter is a gem. Dr. Craig states that the ultimate apologetic is Christian love. Against such love, there is no argument.

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83 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Strong, Methodical Apologetic, February 25, 2002
William Lane Craig is well known inside scholarly circles. Christian scholars regard him as one of the elite. And atheist scholars, along with prominent atheist websites, feel compelled to pay a great deal of attention to the writings and debates of Craig, in my view, because he has demonstrated himself to be one of the sharpest pins to regularly burst the atheism balloon. There is no serious debate about Craig's scholarly credentials and abilities, and Reasonable Faith makes that abundantly clear.

Reasonable Faith is a methodical, meticulous, sometimes impassioned defense of the existence of the Biblically based Christian God. In this book, Craig not only challenges the views of various atheist scholars (whether they reside in science, mathematical or history disciplines) but also challenges the views of deism and 'liberal Christianity'. I felt that the book represented a very logical and easy follow stairway from the issues of faith and reason, to the inescapable reasonableness of the resurrection of Jesus. In between, Craig conducts a quality appraisal of the Godless worldview and where it leads, and an outstanding analysis on the existence of God where he takes on the views of Hawking and others. Craig Blomberg contributes a very good chapter on the reliability of the New Testament, with Craig concluding with a good chapter on the self understanding of Christ and a masterful chapter on the resurrection. Each chapter provides a very compelling chronology of how the debates revolving around these topics have evolved over time, giving the reader a good sense of how thinkers on multiple sides of the issues have formed their various positions. Craig then does an assessment of this chronology in each chapter. I found this approach to be very strong and persuasive.

Craig also does a good job referencing his book, and offers a very good bibliography of other readings that go into further detail on the issues that Craig examines here. When reading this book, the reader may very well want to conduct further investigation and research into a number of areas that Craig touches on, and the bibliography in this book allows the interested reader to do so easily.

The problem of miracles was the one area where Craig could have been a little stronger, in my view. This area is not weak by any stretch, but could have stood for further exploration and examination, in my opinion.

Overall, this is an outstanding book. Craig wrote this book on a more popularized level to make it more amenable to laypeople, but potential readers should not be lead to believe that this is an easy or fluffy read. While written at a more popularized level than much of Craig's high scholarly material, this is still a book that deals with complex issues in a meaty way, and requires the reader to carefully think things through. After reading this book, I hope that even those who remain unconvinced about their need for the Christian God will at least acknowledge that Craig clearly demonstrates that the historical Christian religion can be effectively and articulately defended against the highest level of opposing arguments thrown against it. Christianity is a religion that more than stands on its own intellectually, and Craig shows, in my view, that its competitors in the world of scholarship have long since been lapped. An excellent resource!

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39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Craig is one of sharpest minds around, August 22, 2001
By 
E. Johnson (El Cajon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Having been introduced to Dr. Craig via the video debate that he did with Frank Zindler in 1993 (I have seen the video a dozen times as I have shown this to numerous apologetics classes), I knew that this was a very skilled scholar of Christian truth and apologetics. "Reasonable Faith did not disappoint. From the issues of the existence of God to the resurrection, Dr. Craig deals with a number of important topics that definitely belong in a book like this. He makes the point for his book in the introduction, "Christianity is being attacked from all sides as irrational or outmoded, and millions of students, our future generation of leaders, have absorbed this viewpoint" (xiii). He is absoultely correct in saying that we need to use our minds to fully know and appreciate the God who has revealed Himself to us through His Word.

The first chapter, Faith and Reason, was well done as he took a historical look at how previous believers have wrestled with how much reason is needed to have true faith. (Hence, the title of the book.) Without the Holy Spirit, no one would ever become a Christian, he says, and I fully agree. Good things were written here, and I truly appreciated his assessment section as he put everything together. Another thing I liked about this chapter (and the other chapters as well) is that Dr. Craig wrote a short conclusion that gives an application for the believer. This not only serves as a wonderful summary but is certainly very useful for the lay reader.

After showing the absurdity of the idea that there is no God in chapter 2, Dr. Craig went to one of his specialities in the third chapter regarding the existence of God. This was a long and sometimes too deep chapter that would probably lose many readers. After reading this chapter, I became confused as to whom Dr. Craig thought his audience was. Was he shooting for more of a lay audience, as his "application" sections seemed to indicate? Or was he going for the more intellectual crowd, a group that could even include skeptics? I'm not sure, but I found that I had to move slowly through this chapter, and I'm familiar with the points being made. Still, there's a lot of meat here and worth a study.

I felt the middle chapters bogged down a bit, with history being emphasized along with the points. Craig Blomberg, though, had an excellent submitted chapter on the historical reliability of the Bible. The last chapter on the resurrection was one of the strongest points of this book, as I think Dr. Craig does as well as anyone reporting on the historicity of the most important event in Christianity.

One final comment. I would have liked it had the editor eliminated the conjunctions that began many sentences (but, for, etc.). The book also has too many sentences beginning with the word "now." Now, I know this is a minor point, but truly it almost became a humorous distraction every time I saw another sentence that began with it. :) Despite this silly observation, Reasonable Faith is a book I would recommend. Indeed there are few Christian scholars as sharp as Dr. Craig. I challenge an atheist, committed or not, to take up this book and see if Christianity is nonsensible. If he is honest, he will have to admit that there are at least some strong points with the Christian religion.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
hallucination hypothesis, oscillating model, fewer accepted beliefs, given infinite past time, resurrection hypothesis, maximally great being, greater explanatory scope, low entropy condition, maximal description, primordial vacuum, beginningless series, maximal greatness, other true statements, historical apologetics, empty tomb narrative, multiply attested, kalám cosmological argument, objective moral values, postmortem appearances, kalám argument, eternal inflation, proper basicality, being uncaused, traditional apologetic, eschatological resurrection
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, New Testament, Holy Spirit, The Existence of God, Grand Rapids, Big Bang, Jesus of Nazareth, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Son of Man, Son of God, The Problem of Historical Knowledge, The Self-Understanding of Jesus, Word of God, Know Christianity Is True, The Problem of Miracles, Standard Model, The Absurdity of Life, God's Spirit, Philosophia Christi, Jesus Seminar, Resurrecting Jesus, Garden City, Joseph of Arimathea, Richard Dawkins
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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